Chinese word

打交道

Pronunciation

Pinyindǎ jiāo dào

Meaning

  • verbdeal with

Example

工作中我常常要和很多人打交道。gōng zuò zhōng wǒ cháng cháng yào hé hěn duō rén dǎ jiāo dào

At work, I often have to deal with many people.

Illustration for 打交道 (deal with)

More examples

医生需要耐心地和病人打交道。yī shēng xū yào nài xīn dì hé bìng rén dǎ jiāo dào

A doctor needs to deal patiently with patients.

Core concept

A two-way channel of contact that continues as people deal with one another and their affairs.

Common phrases

  • 跟外国人打交道gēn wài guó rén dǎ jiāo dào

    deal with foreigners

  • 和媒体打交道hé méi tǐ dǎ jiāo dào

    deal with the media

  • 与患者打交道yǔ huàn zhě dǎ jiāo dào

    deal with patients

Similar words

沟通gōu tōng: Communicate information or ideas so that both sides understand each other.
交流jiāo liú: Exchange views or feelings to deepen mutual understanding and connection.
联系lián xì: Contact someone when needed to discuss a matter or keep in touch.
交往jiāo wǎng: Associate socially with someone and maintain a personal relationship.

Definition in Chinese

与别人交往、接触或处理来往事务，多用于描述与人打交道的过程或经验。yǔ bié rén jiāo wǎng jiē chù huò chú lǐ lái wǎng shì wù duō yòng yú miáo shù yǔ rén dǎ jiāo dào de guò chéng huò jīng yàn

Word origin

In 打交道 (dǎjiāodào, "to deal with people"), 打 (dǎ, "to do") combines with the older term 交道 (jiāodào, "dealings") to form a verb for carrying on dealings with others.

Usage tips

  • A negative form often marks deliberate social distance, so saying that someone does not want to deal with a person or group can sound like avoidance rather than neutral lack of contact.

Other meanings

  • associate withverb
  • interact withverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 交道jiāo dàodealingsnoun

Word lists with this word